After Jamia, JNU; LPU Terminates MoUs With Turkish, Azerbaijan Institutions – News18

Last Updated:May 17, 2025, 12:25 IST

Situated in Jalandhar, LPU is the first private university in India to end affiliations with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab has recently decided to terminate all memorandums of understanding with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan, citing recent geopolitical events that it believes conflict with India’s national interests, reported PTI.

This decision follows Turkiye’s support for Pakistan and its criticism of India’s military actions against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during Operation Sindoor. Pakistan also extensively used Turkish drones during its military confrontation with India.

Situated in Jalandhar, LPU is the first private university in India to end affiliations with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

“Our armed forces are risking their lives in various operations, air defence, and border patrols. As an institution, we cannot remain indifferent. LPU’s mission has always been aligned with India’s growth and integrity, and we will never collaborate with any institution that undermines India’s sovereignty,” LPU Founder Chancellor and Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal told PTI.

The decision involves the immediate cessation of student and faculty exchange programs, joint research projects, dual degree initiatives, and all other forms of academic collaborations with institutions from these two countries.

Institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad, and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU) in Kanpur have also suspended their agreements with Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

MANUU announced cancelling its MoU with Yunus Emre Institute, Turkiye for a diploma course, with immediate effect. The central university said it signed a MoU with the Turkish institute in 2020 for a period of five years under which a diploma in Turkish language was started at the School of languages, linguistics and Indology in MANUU. A visiting professor who was appointed for the course has already returned to his country, an official had informed.

Jamia Millia Islamia had suspended all academic collaborations with institutions affiliated to the government of Turkiye citing national security concerns, officials had said earlier. “Due to national security considerations, any MoU between Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and any institution affiliated to the government of Turkiye stands suspended with immediate effect until further orders. Jamia Millia Islamia stands firmly with the nation,” the university said in a post on X.

The Delhi University (DU), meanwhile, said it has no active collaboration with any Turkish or Azerbaijani institutions as all its previous MoUs have already expired.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has also suspended its MoU with Turkiye’s Inonu University, which was signed earlier this year for faculty and student exchange programmes. “JNU has suspended the MoU due to national security considerations as JNU stands with the nation and the armed forces, many of whom are JNU alumni,” Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said.

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